Launch

SpaceX launches largest rocket ever built, but test flight ends in explosion

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SpaceX’s Starship rocket, nearly 40 stories tall, climbs off its launch pad at the Starbase launch site in South Texas. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann / Spaceflight Now After years of anticipation, SpaceX launched the first test flight of its full-scale Starship rocket Thursday from South Texas, but the mission ended four minutes later as the vehicle …

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SpaceX launches Transporter 7 rideshare mission from California

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with 51 small satellites and payloads. Credit: SpaceX After several delays to wait for improved weather, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket into space late Friday night from California’s Central Coast with 51 small satellites, payloads, and orbital transfer vehicles from customers …

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FAA clears SpaceX to launch world’s largest rocket

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SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy rocket on their launch pad in South Texas. Credit: SpaceX The Federal Aviation Administration approved a commercial license Friday for the first full-scale test flight of SpaceX’s nearly 400-foot-tall Super Heavy and Starship mega-rocket from South Texas, a launch SpaceX said could happen as soon as Monday morning. “After a comprehensive …

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Falcon Heavy test-fired at Kennedy Space Center

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The test-firing of 27 engines on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket Thursday sent a plume of exhaust out of the flame trench at Launch Complex 39A. Credit: Spaceflight Now SpaceX test-fired 27 main engines on a Falcon Heavy rocket Thursday in Florida, clearing a hurdle before installing three commercial communications satellites on the launcher for a …

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Europe’s first mission to Jupiter poised for launch from South America

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The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft is buttoned up for launch inside the payload fairing of an Ariane 5 rocket. The illustration on the Ariane 5 payload fairing was the winning submission in a children’s art competition, drawn by eight-year-old Yaryna  from Ukraine. Credit:ESA-Manuel Pedoussaut The European Space Agency’s $1.7 …

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Preparations underway for SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch

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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket for the ViaSat 3 Americas mission inside the hangar at Launch Complex 39A. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy mission, set for April 18 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will launch a powerhouse bus-sized broadband satellite for Viasat into a high-altitude circular geostationary orbit, a demanding flight profile that …

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SpaceX readying Starship rocket for around-the-world test flight as soon as next week

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SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket stand fully stacked at the company’s Starbase launch facility in South Texas. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX said Tuesday it won’t perform a final countdown dress rehearsal this week for the giant new Starship launch vehicle, and could send the rocket — standing nearly 40 stories tall on its Texas …

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Watch live: SpaceX counting down to launch of Intelsat satellite with NASA air quality sensor

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Watch our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Intelsat 40e communications satellite, which also hosts NASA’s TEMPO air quality monitoring instrument. Follow us on Twitter. SFN Live SpaceX is counting …

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NASA air quality sensor ready for launch with Intelsat satellite

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Artist’s illustration of the TEMPO instrument’s scan of air quality across North America. Credit: NASA A $210 million NASA mission to improve air pollution monitoring over North America is set to launch Friday with an Intelsat communications satellite blasting off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, …

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Israel launches radar spy satellite into retrograde orbit

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Israel’s Ofek 13 radar spy satellite lifted off aboard an Israeli-built Shavit 2 launch vehicle. Credit: Israel Ministry of Defense Israel’s military launched a radar spy satellite March 28 from an air base south of Tel Aviv, adding an all-weather observation sentinel to the country’s fleet of intelligence-gathering spacecraft. A solid-fueled Shavit 2 launcher delivered …

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